Heartbroken at the loss of his good friend and confidant, Fabian Reeves took two weeks to complete the casket for Haldane ‘Hally’ Holder, but when he was done, he felt good knowing that his friend would have been proud.
Hally was one who supported, encouraged and motivated Fabian, believing even more in his talents, than Fabian himself.
I felt like, Hal had so much faith in me that, I didn’t even realise I had that skill in me
Chatting with Loop Lifestyle, since completing the buggy casket and giving his friend a most-fitting sendoff, Fabian talked to us about the process and his close friend Hal.
Fabian, who is the brains and owner of Fabulous AF – Affordable Furnishings, said that he was touched by Hal asking him to make his casket. He said he put his all into this casket – sweat and tears, because his friend was deserving.
He explained: “The casket took me two weeks to build. It took one week to construct the shape and design of the casket, then another week to do the exterior, interior and the customization with the lights and such.”
He used plywood, deal board and PVC. He used real LED lights inside and outside. “The tyres on it were real tyres. I built the rims from PVC.”
Talking about how he felt on completion, he said, “When I finished it, I was in that garage about three or four times that I finished it just looking at, saying ‘Is this me? I did this?’ That kinda way – an out-of-body experience. I felt like, Hal had so much faith in me that, I didn’t even realise I had that skill in me until I did what I did with that car.
“And remembering him, while I was doing it, that drive me to finish it the way it was. Just seeing it how he envisioned it to be, how he pictured it and then when I saw the picture of the actual car he used to drive – yeah, I was proud.”
Asked how he felt when the family finally viewed the creation, he said, “I felt as though I accomplished my goal, and he [Hal] got everything he wanted. I felt as though what they were seeing was a peaceful place that he was happy to be in, at his end.”
When delivering a few words at the funeral service for Hal earlier this month, Fabian reminisced about his friend, his fellow biker, his fellow motorcycle club colleague and the rally driver.
No matter the colour, class or creed of persons you befriended all!
“I wouldn’t have imagined that Independence Day 2022 would have been the last ride Hal would have had with us. Hal was one person who made sure I knew that I could achieve greatness.
“Some time back he made it clear to me that he was to transition to the other side in his yellow buggy. I honestly didn’t think too heavily about it because then it didn’t seem practical. However, when his son visited me soon after his passing, he imparted that Hal instructed him to come to me to follow through on his last wishes. Shainy you don’t even know that at that moment when you shared his request I had to hold my emotions back because even in death, he really believed I had the capability to achieve this task, when I myself wasn’t sure I could.
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“It was because of those words I pushed hard and dug deep to build this creation.
“Hal, who would have known that one day after my birthday you showed me you truly believed in me? I will miss you, buddy. We all will miss you.
“You have impacted the Barbadian biking and automobile community in many ways. If it was one person I know I could count on it was you! From my wedding to all the charity events we did together throughout the years, you never backed down from helping others. The fellas would say on any ride Hally would always make sure everyone was good – ‘No man left behind’ was the motto. No matter the colour, class or creed of persons you befriended all! You were also a little stubborn too, let’s not forget that. but in a good way. People would say, ‘Hal, why you don’t put down that bike?’ Little did they know that was like asking a child that loved chocolate to never eat it again.”
When asked what is something he learnt from Hally that he would never forget, Fabian said without missing a beat:
“One lesson I learnt from Hally was never let anything stress me out because it makes no sense worrying about things you have no control of. Just live life.
he told Hal’s loved ones, “The only thing he needed was a sunny day, his bike, an easy country road and the green men to cool him down when the ride was over. I read a quote recently that reminded me so much of how Hal lived, so I’ll end today off with this…’Life should not be a journey with the intention of arriving safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broad side in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used and totally spent, loudly proclaiming – ‘Wow, what a ride!’”
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